GENERAL TOWING

Haden II, the 12th tug for Bay-Houston Towing Company, was christened in Galveston. Designed in-house in coordination with Schuller & Allan, Inc., the 3,900 bhp tug is designed primarily for ship docking, but also has general towing capabilities.
The vessel was built by Main Iron Works, and will service the ports of Houston and Galveston. Design criteria were developed to enhance the most important functions of the tug's mission: high maneuverability, coupled with maximum bollard pull (thrust).

The Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur reopened the Intracoastal Waterway after the towing vessel Caroline was refloated Monday.
The waterway was closed following a collision between the towing vessel Caroline and the towing vessel Miss Stacie at mile marker 312 on the Intracoastal Waterway early this morning. No injuries were sustained during the collision.
A Unified Command comprised of Canal Barge Company, Texas General Land Office

Coastal Towing, Inc., announced today the consummation of a $28 million senior term loan with the CIT Group/ Equipment Financing, Inc., Heller Financial Leasing, Inc. Pursuant to this transaction, the Company refinanced senior term debt under existing agreements with CIT and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. In addition, the loan will be used to facilitate Coastal?s barge construction program.
Coastal Towing Announces New Corporate Officer

All towing vessels except those in restricted services are required to comply with new requirements for fire protection equipment and procedures under an interim rule issued by the USCG. The rule is the first step in a two-pronged approach to implementing the requirements of the 1996 USCG Authorization Act, which directed the USCG to promulgate regulations requiring fire suppression systems or other measures to control fires on towing vessels.

You’ve got an emergency towing wire. Of course you do. It’s rusted beyond belief, probably retired from primary service two years ago when it developed that kink and those nasty fishhooks. And, it’s deployed where it should be; out on deck, in the open and exposed to the elements. Will it perform when you need it most? Probably not. It doesn’t have to be that way. According to JK Fabrication, the current system of storing wire on a front splash plate insures that the

The US Coast Guard inform that search and rescue personnel at the District Seven Command Center in Miami are coordinating fire-fighting efforts on a towed 730-foot barge loaded with containers on fire about 86-miles northeast of Nassau, Bahamas.
The Command Center received a call from the 127-foot tug Patriarch, reporting that a fire had started among cargo containers on the the barge. The Coast Guard considered that there is no threat to the general population or the seven crewmembers

Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Port Arthur is monitoring the pollution threat and structural integrity of the 132-foot, U.S.-flagged towing vessel Mama Lere, which is partially submerged and accompanied by a four barge tow. The Mama Lere began flooding while transiting from New Orleans to Houston.
The flooding began in the engine room at Mile Marker 289 on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway near the West Port Arthur Bridge

ATL’s newest OSV contract creates 100 new jobs
Atlantic Towing Limited (ATL) announced today that it has secured a new 10-year firm contract, plus a total of 15 years of options at the Charterers’ discretion, with ExxonMobil Canada Properties and Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) for four new state-of-the art Platform Supply Vessels operating out of St John’s, NL. The first ships for the contract will be delivered in 2016 and will join Atlantic

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Towing Vessel National Center of Expertise (NCOE) recently conducted an analysis of all deficiencies recorded by CG field personnel while Examining “uninspected towing vessels” (UTV) under the Towing Vessel Bridging Program and through other activities.
The purpose of this analysis was to provide information and visibility on the most common UTV deficiencies list to share with UTV owner/operators in order to assist them in identifying and

Cargo ship Lysblink Seaways will be towed to Inchgreen, Greenock for repair work after grounding last month on Scotland’s west coast.
The vessel, which ran aground February 18, was refloated and taken to Scallastle Bay in the Sound of Mull where Svitzer Salvage has a team on board

Dry bulk shipping companies Golden Ocean Group Limited (GOGL) and the listed dry bulk shipping company in John Fredriksen's business empire Knightsbridge Shipping have chosen March 26 to hold a special general meeting and finalize the merger talks.

A tug boat owner was today was given an 8 month custodial sentence after his crew member died trying to reattach a tow line in a violent storm.
During today’s hearing at Southampton Crown Court, Martin Richley owner and skipper of 9

General Maritime Corp, which operates crude oil tankers, will acquire Navig8 Crude Tankers Inc in a stock-for-stock deal, the two companies said in a statement.
A newly formed unit of General Maritime will acquire all of Navig8 Crude's common shares to form Gener8 Maritime Inc.

Cargo ship Lysblink Seaways, which ran aground on Scotland’s west coast February 18, will be transported to shelter this afternoon after a successful ship-to-ship fuel oil transfer was performed yesterday, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported.

The ‘Lysblink Seaways’ ran aground on 18 February at Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan Peninsula, in the western entrance to the Sound of Mull.
Early this morning the increased wind caused the vessel to drag her anchor. A tow line was placed on board and, as per

A tugboat owner was given an eight-month custodial sentence after his crew member died trying to reattach a tow line in a violent storm.
Martin Richley, owner and skipper of 9.5m Medway tugboat Endurance, pleaded guilty to offences under the Merchant Shipping Act at a hearing today at

Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards announces retirement of vice president and general manager, appoints successor
Seaspan’s vice president and general manager of Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd., Malcolm Barker, will retire Spring 2015, following more than 21 years with the company.

Stornoway Coastguard was contacted this morning by the general cargo vessel LYSBLINK SEAWAYS reporting that they had gone aground north of the Isle of Mull, near Kilchoan, at approximately 1.50am.
She has 9 people on board and the Tobermory RNLI lifeboat has been standing by the vessel on scene

Petroleum Geo-Services ASA ('PGS' or the 'Company') today announces that Oslo District Court in its judgment of 13 February 2015 ruled in favor of PGS in the lawsuit filed by ElectroMagnetic GeoServices ASA ('EMGS') against PGS for patent infringement relating to PGS' Towed Streamer EM

Cooperation between both the operational and construction teams of Sanmar AS and the designers at Robert Allan Ltd. has resulted in another new tug/workboat design.
Yenicay, this first-of-class compact ASD achieves a 30mt bollard pull in a vessel measuring 18.7m x 9.2m, with a draft of 3

A U.S. Coast Guard crew is en route to assist a 207-foot fishing vessel with 26 people aboard beset in ice approximately 900 miles northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star is attempting to reach the crew of an Australian-flagged fishing vessel

General Dynamics NASSCO christened the U.S. Navy’s newest ship, the USNS Lewis B. Puller (MLP-3 AFSB), on Saturday during a christening ceremony held at the San Diego builder’s shipyard.
This third Mobile Landing Platform (MLP) is the first ship of the class to be configured

In January 2015, Huisman, the worldwide specialist in lifting, drilling and subsea solutions, and Brazilian shipping company and shipyard group Grupo CBO, signed a contract for the delivery of four anchor handling and towing winch packages for four new Havyard 843 AHTS vessels.

General Dynamics’ four-channel Digital Modular Radios (DMR) are being upgraded with high-frequency dynamic routing (HFDR) software to turn the radio’s four channels into eight virtual channels. In addition to HFDR, the new high-frequency virtual channel exploitation software